Pope offers simple words of advice on how to evangelise

Pope offers simple words of advice on how to evangelise

By Ronnie Convery

“Here is the first thing to say to people: God is not distant, he is a Father, he knows you and he loves you; he wants to take you by the hand, even when you travel on steep and rugged paths, even when you fall and struggle to get up again and get back on track. He is there with you.

“Indeed, often in the moments when you are at your weakest, you can feel his presence more strongly…”

With this profound but practical message, Pope Francis has used his first public address after being released from hospital to encourage people to evangelise in their everyday lives.

Focusing on the theme of evangelisation which Archbishop Nolan has insisted must be the priority too for the Archdiocese, the Pope gave a beautiful but simple masterclass on how to bring people closer to God.

He said he was inviting each person to see him or herself as a child holding their father’s hand.

Pope Francis said: “Everything seems different. The world, large and mysterious, becomes familiar and secure, because the child knows he is protected. He is not afraid, and learns how to open up: he meets other people, finds new friends, learns with joy things that he did not know, and then returns home and tells everyone what he has seen, while within him there grows the desire to become grown up and to do the things he has seen his daddy do…

“If we want to be good apostles, we must be like children: we must sit ‘on God’s lap’ and, from there, look at the world with trust and love…

“But how can we do this? Jesus recommends not saying many words, but performing many deeds of love and hope in the name of the Lord. Not saying many words, performing deeds!

“At this point, let us ask a few questions: we, who believe in God who is close: do we confide in him? Do we know how to look forward trustfully, like a child who knows he is held in his father’s arms? Do we know how to sit in the Father’s lap with prayer, by listening to the Word, partaking of the Sacraments? And finally, close to him, do we know how to instill courage in others, to make ourselves close to those who suffer and are alone, to those who are distant and even those who are hostile? This is the substance of faith. This is what counts.”

People’s priorities will be discussed at Church’s historic Rome Synod

By Ronnie Convery

Priorities highlighted by parishes across the Archdiocese in last year’s Synod consultations are to be discussed in Rome in October at the worldwide synod gathering with Pope Francis.

Parishioners from across the Archdiocese produced a report on priority issues after discernment sessions in parishes and deaneries and the issues highlighted have largely made it into the working document for the General Assembly.

When bishops and lay delegates gather in the Vatican in October for the Synod of Bishops, they will discuss many questions raised in the worldwide consultation, including the possibility of women deacons, the question of access to the priesthood for married men, outreach towards gay Catholics, and new models of authority with the aim of making the Church more welcoming to all humanity.

In a much-anticipated document released last month, the Vatican’s synod office said the October gathering would respond with “missionary urgency” to the challenges of church life in the modern world.

Known in Latin as the instrumentum laboris, the 60-page document will guide the month-long Vatican summit.

Among the issues and considerations in the document are how a synodal church recognises and values the central role of the poor; the experience of migrants; victims of sexual abuse, violence and other injustices; the disabled; divorced and remarried Catholics; the need for greater commitment to ecumenism and learning from other faith traditions; and the role of women in the church today.

The document states boldly: “The radical call is to build together, synodally, an attractive and concrete church: an outgoing church, in which all feel welcome.”

The concept of ‘synodality’ is a key theme of Pope Francis’ pontificate and he sees it as a way of implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and instilling them into the practices and structures of the church today.

Earlier this year, Francis dramatically expanded participation in the synod to include lay men and women, for the first time granting them a right to be appointed as full voting members of the Church’s primary consultative body.

In addition to the issue-specific questions, the document calls for a consideration for the ways in which the church’s preparation for ministry, particularly in seminaries, might need to change to become more synodal, as well as for a consideration of how the church’s canon law may need to be revised.

Cardinal Mario Grech who is the head of the Vatican’s synod office, told reporters that over the past two years, he has encountered many bishops sceptical of synodality, who, once involved in the process, found it to be a “priceless treasure.”

He said: “People should not view the document through a progressive or conservative lens. We can do without this distinction. We are the holy people of God.”

One notable change in the upcoming synod, is that unlike past synods, which have taken place in the Vatican’s synod hall – an auditorium with stadium style seating – the October meeting will take place in the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI audience hall to allow participants to sit at round tables, more conducive for discussion.

Migrants need our support, says Archbishop

By Ronnie Convery

A powerful plea to offer a welcome rather than a hostile environment to migrants was made by Archbishop Nolan during a solidarity protest at the detention centre in Dungavel.

Braving the rain, the Archbishop and supporters from Justice and Peace Scotland gathered outside the barbed wire fences behind which those seeking asylum are held.

The Archbishop was forthright in his views. He said: “Many of these people come from countries where war has been raging for years – wars using weapons we in this country have sold to the opposing factions. Others come from lands where climate change has made life impossible. That climate change has been caused by us in the northern hemisphere who are creating the pollution which is causing devastation in their homelands.

“We have a responsibility for the plight they find themselves in and we have to recognise that.

“The earth is our common home. God has given the earth to all of humanity and we should recognise the dignity of our fellow human beings when they are in need and stretch out a welcoming hand to help them, not build barriers and hostile environments and threaten them with deportation to Rwanda.”

And he went on to criticise UK Government policy which makes it all but impossible for people to claim asylum.

He said: “We are the ones who have decided that the people behind this barbed wire are ‘illegal’ migrants or ‘illegal’ asylum seekers. There is nothing wrong with wanting to move elsewhere to take your family out of poverty to take your family to a safe haven, to a place where you can work and support them and where they can grow without the threat of starvation or violence.”

Earlier in a weekend of action the Archbishop had joined the new Kirk Moderator Sally Foster Fulton, in a protest outside the nuclear weapons base at Faslane.

The two Church leaders used their visit to criticise the doctrine of deterrence and call for a removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil, recalling the plea of the Scottish bishops decades ago that ‘if it is wrong to use nuclear weapons it is also wrong to threaten their use’.

Stella Maris comes home to Glasgow

By Brian Swanson

Supporters of Stella Maris, the Catholic charity which cares for seafarers in ports throughout the world, returned to the Glasgow church where it all began as part of a round Britain sailing pilgrimage to mark over 100 years of service to sailors and seafarers.

Volunteers on board the sailboat Mintaka, which docked at the Transport Museum, attended Mass at St Aloysius Garnethill where the foundations of what is now a global Catholic charity were first laid thanks to the initiative of a Jesuit priest and an Irish lay brother who were both serving in the parish at the time.

To mark the founding of the organisation 102 years ago and raise awareness of the its work, Mintaka and its crew of volunteers began a 2,400 mile journey from Southampton on April 29, calling at places in the UK of special significance to Stella Maris, before arriving in Glasgow on June 11, the Feast of Corpus Christi.

Stella Maris Port Chaplain Deacon Joe O’Donnell, said: “It was a proud day for us here in Glasgow to celebrate and give thanks to God for the those early pioneers who founded Stella Maris more than a century ago – here’s to the next hundred years!”